Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector Telescope for Beginners - Compact & Portable for Travel or Backyard Astronomy - Includes Eyepieces and Accessories

This was my first scope.... So I'm no astro nerd expert. But let me tell you, your mind will be blown. Shipped quickly, easy assembly, I glanced over the instructions.... trial and error, it takes a little practice to get the hang of this thing if you've never used a telescope. The laser sight works pretty good, for some reason I can't get mine to stay sighted in perfectly, probably need to read the instructions more carefully, but the scope works fine overall. Focuses well, really picks up light.... you know how you feel like you can almost see a bizillion stars in between the brighter stars? Well, they're there. You can stare into a dark area with this thing and boom there are more stars there. I did a little research before the purchase. This seemed like the best bang for your buck as far as a good entry-level scope that can collect a decent amount of light. Started eyeballing around, learning the constellations.... the moon is crazy detailed and close up... haven't gotten a chance to view planets yet.... but I see satellites all the time zipping around up there, star clusters... and I live in an area with somewhat bad light pollution, haven't even tried it out in the country yet where the view will be better. Maybe I'm nuts, but this is better than watching T.V. I sit out there in the bed of my truck in the driveway just eyeballing around, staring at stars... they're all different colors... flashes of light.... you can really see them.... like, you can tell they're just like the sun but just really far away.... I don't know. A couple of weeks ago I was out there eyeballing the stars late at night sipping on a screwdriver and staring at one star in particular and pondering existence and if we're alone and whether or not there's a god and all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks and I can hardly put in to words what happened.... but it was a religious experience. Strange. Hard to explain. Best way I can put it is that I was overwhelmed with a mix of love, grief, peace, a longing, fear, happiness and sadness, all melded in this one powerful crippling emotion. A presence. I no longer have any doubt in my mind. If you've never had a religious experience.... well, maybe you'll have one eventually. I hope so. Aside from possibly triggering life-altering experiences, this little light bucket is your eyeball into the cosmos. I love it. One of these days I'll go for a bigger light bucket but this one is great... very portable.... I've been using it as much as I can for about three months now, cloudy winter skies sometimes... learning all of the stars.... the great thing is that the stars change with the seasons. Always something new to see, somewhere else to look and explore. Your mind will be blown! If you're thinking about whether or not to buy it, buy it. Stare at the heavens. Ponder existence. There's so much to learn, so much we don't know. Go for it! As an inexperienced amateur with nothing to compare it to, I've been very pleased with the scope and its performance. Exceeded my expectations, very well worth the money. I will come back and dig up this review should it prove to be cheap and break or have a serious malfunction. If no updates, assume I'm still out there in the driveway sipping on a screwdriver. *UPDATE APRIL 2019* - It fell apart. What a cheap piece of garbage. Naw I'm just kidding. Still works as good as the day I got her. Since I wrote the original review I've seen the planets, seen a band or two of clouds on Jupiter as well as the moons, seen the rings of Saturn, eyeballed Andromeda, the brighter Messier objects... star clusters... etc. And great news! Moved out into the boonies where I can really see the stars. Almost zero light pollution. One really clear night the ole' lady and I were camping and looking at the night sky... I put the scope in the center band of the Milky Way... you could see as many stars through the scope as you could see in the entire night sky with the naked eye. Its just ridiculous. Watch the Tim and Eric documentary on space. It will blow your mind. Great scope. She's been bounced around in the back of my truck on crusty rutted gravel roads and still held up great. I wouldn't recommend doing that but it is a fairly durable piece of equipment. SOON... someday soon I'll order the XT8 (the step up with the 8" aperture.) Amen brother. ***2ND UPDATE JULY 2021*** With the apocalyptic plague still ravaging the planet, its nice to know the ole' Starblast is there when I need her. She's still holding up great. Been bounced to hell and back in the back of my crusty farm truck. Mud, skeeters, southern humidity, dew. She's impervious. The stars don't care about the plague. They were there long before we came around, they'll be there long after. Its kinda comforting. When the bad man on the T.V. gets you all worked in a frenzy, just throw that T.V. in the yard and go enjoy your Starblast. I've seen all kinds of crazy crap going on up there in the sky. Spotted a new, previously not seen by me star cluster the other night. Even seen dual satellites up there, following the same trajectory. ALIENS. POSSIBLE DUAL ALIEN CRAFTS! Amen brother. Keep on keepin on.

I live in a light polluted city and took the small and convenient 4.5-inch StarBlast Dobsonian telescope to an open park field to show my young children Jupiter and Saturn. I was very disappointed the first night where I just used the two eyepiece that came with the StarBlast (17mm and 6mm). As an amateur astronomer I previously used 8-inch Dobsonian and could easily see Saturn's ring and Jupiter's stripes. But even with the 6mm on the StarBlast, Saturn's ring was so tiny that my 4 year old couldn't tell it's Saturn and Jupiter was so so tiny I couldn't see the stripes. (Though the Jovian moons were clearly visible.) I thought perhaps I should get a bigger scope. But I decided to get some accessories for the StarBlast to try again. I immediately purchased this Barlow Lens 2X (Bysameyee 1.25 Inch, $26) and an Orion E-Series 7-21mm Zoom Eyepiece ($63). Using either one immediately brought out the true potential of the StarBlast: Saturn's ring was clearly visible for my 4 year old and we can faintly make out the stripes on Jupiter. Given there was a quarter moon close between the two planets and we were in a light polluted city, I was VERY satisfied with the results. The kids were excited because they could easily identify the planets. Of course, using both together was the best. If you have to buy just one accessory (either the Barlow or the Orion Zoom eyepiece mentioned above) for the StarBlast, go with the 2x Barlow Lens. Using the Barlow with StarBlast's 6mm eyepiece gave the largest view (since the Zoom eyepiece can zoom to 7mm, not 6mm). However the problem with the 6mm is that since it has such a small field of view, it was sometimes hard to find the object as these stellar objects constantly move and also kids sometimes bump into the scope (also the red dot finder isn't as user friendly as a Telrad, but that's not too much of a problem) so I had to rely on the 17mm to zero in on the object and switch back to the 6mm. But since I have small kids, it was a hassle to switch back and forth. So that's where the Orion 7-21mm Zoom comes in. Wow! So convenient to find things when they move out of view, I don't even need to refocus during the zoom. It was also extra fun when the entire quarter moon fits in the 21mm and the kids can ZOOM into the 7mm themselves to look at some craters in detail. They had a blast! If you just use the Zoom Eyepiece without the Barlow on the Starblast, you don't get to see objects extra big, but it's fine, you can still clearly make out Saturn's ring and barely Jupiter's stripes. In conclusion, I highly recommend getting both the 2x Barlow and Orion Zoom to bring out all that the small but mighty StarBlast scope has to offer! I don't need a big scope in a light polluted city to inspire the kids after all! StarBlast with the 2x Barlow and Orion Zoom give me all the convenience, kid friendliness, and astronomy potential we need. P.S. After I try to observe some brighter galaxies (Andromeda) and other Messier objects I will update my review.

This arrived yesterday - earlier than expected - and I was so pleased with my first night of observing. First - you actually get an instruction manual - not a couple of pages with photos and arrows - a real instruction manual with easy to follow and understand instructions for unpacking and setting up the scope. Second - aligning it was easy in daylight. Third - I took it outside and within minutes used the red-dot finder to view Andromeda, Polaris, Capella - easy targets to test it out - and then when Jupiter rose I focused on it and that made my night! I purchased the Barlow Shorty extender with this, and that came in handy for increasing magnification - and despite some cloud haze I could see the colors of the great gas giant, along with her 4 prominent moons! It's just not the same when you see a picture in a magazine - although I enjoy those - but with this scope I am seeing amazing sights of the universe with my own two eyes! I live in a city, so plenty of light pollution, but this weekend will be heading out to a dark sky sight where I expect to be even more amazed. There's a whole universe out there, folks! Get more than a glimpse of it with this excellent beginner scope!

Ordered the Starblast 4.5 to upgrade from a FirstScope 76mm. I wanted a scope with better optics, but still small enough to be portable, and easy to store. I chose this one over the Starblast 6 and full size 4.5 inch Dobsonian because of the smaller size and lighter weight. It looks small in the picture anyway. Well, compared to the FirstScope, this thing is freaking huge! It's a good thing I didn't order the even larger Starblast 6 or 4.5 inch full size Dob instead. This is definitely NOT a backpacker's telescope. I will update this review after I figure out a way to get the large box home and try it out. Update: The Starblast 4.5 size seems manageble once I got it out of the box. It was very easy to setup initially. I only had to install the red dot finder and put in an eyepiece and it was ready. They 17mm Kellner eyepiece is pretty good. I replaced the 6mm Kellner with a 6mm Orion Long Eye Relief eyepiece and the views are great with the new eyepiece. I also use a 14.5mm Orion Long Eye Relief eyepiece for 31x magnification and a 20mm Meade 4000 Super Plossl for 22x. I had some trouble seeing Jupiter's bands the first few nights. I tried collimating the mirrors and it made all the difference. The included collimation cap is a nice feature. Now I can clearly see 2 distinct bands on Jupiter. It may have been collimated at the factory, but alignment probably changed during shipping. The Starblast 4.5 is working well as a Grab and Go telescope for me. I keep it in the garage and use it in my back yard, weather permitting. I can set it up very quickly on short notice when seeing conditions are good. I like the fact that I don't have to hassle with a tripod. I just set it on a small table (from the thrift store), sit on a folding camping stool and it's ready to go in minutes. It's also easy to put away in minutes, when the weather turns bad unpredictably.

Just 3 things first before I get into the meat of the review . I really loved that the StarBlast was calibrated from the factory, for me it was only a little bit off due to shipping bumps. But otherwise I highly recommend not messing with the secondary mirror too much. Always make sure you read the instructions first to avoid being frustrated. And if you do not already, make sure you have a 2mm Allen wrench or (Hex socket). And Once it was all set up; I had a 17mm, 6mm 4mm to work with, having ordered the 6 and 4 mm, plus a 2x barlow lens. Which combined with the 4 mm, brought the magnification to X225 (one short of the mag limit on the StarBlast at X226, also called "maximum useful magnification".). This is plenty thought to see the stripes on Jupiter, the slight discoloring of Saturn with it's ring dipping and raising. If you have the money for a 6" I would highly recommend going for the extra 1.5" of Aperture. But this one is a fantastic option for me personally. I ordered a Laser collimator from Astromania (twas the cheapest) and it worked out perfect. You make sure it's aligned close enough, turn on the laser then use the 2mm wrench to adust three screws which push it different ways. BUT. MAKE SURE U HOLD THE SECONDARY MIRROR as you adjust it, you do not want it to turn. I'd recommend putting some kind of mark just past the medal spider center strut, so you can make sure you get it back to the calibrated orientation. You then look down the barrel and align the laser in the center dot on the primary (the big mirror) mirror, you then fine tune the primary mirror via the adjustment knobs. These kind of telescopes are a lttle more vulnerable to dust and particulates, so make sure it's covered any minute you're not consistently using it. With the help of the Moon Filter too (Use it for 8mm and above, below that - the magnification blocks out some of the light anyway. I haven't spied Uranus yet, but my favorite so far is Jupiter. The telescope is WELL BUILT!! The regular bumps that would knock the hell out of your image in other telescopes? Don't phase this one. It's sturdy and smooth, making target acquisition smooth when the laser target finder is tuned in. Highly recommend this product for ANYONE who is starting out in astronomy, and is on a budget. It's a tad vulnerable to high wind but it stands it's ground. I still have yet to drive like 40-50 miles out of town to really start to see some incredible things. But every night, even with bad light pollution (I live in Fort Worth), you can always observe most planets and always the fantastic moon with it's phases. I even tracked a satellite!! It was flying across the sky, I switched to my 17mm and tracked it, It was BOOKIN' it across the sky lol Thank you Orion! This purchase has made me very happy!

Love this guy! This is my first telescope as an adult, so I figured this was a good “test the water” scope to see if I’d actually get into it or not. Had it for a couple of months now and have used it frequently for backyard viewing. This is great right out of the box. I can see tons of detail on the moon and I’ve been taken aback by star clusters. I haven’t had an opportunity to see Saturn or Jupiter yet, but I expect I’ll have a decent view. That said.. I did upgrade a few things. 1. The EZ finder that comes with the scope was difficult for me to use. I’m sure it was user error, but even whenever it was almost working, it was uncomfortable to use. I ended up getting an Orion finder scope to replace it ($60-70) and am happy I did, even if it kind of looks ridiculous! 2. The eyepieces included are great. I also got the shorty Barlow lens, which made them even better. But after doing some math/research, I decided to get an eye piece with a greater field of vision. The included eyepieces are 50 deg, and I found a 70 deg 15 mm for about $50 on another site... and wow! Big difference. Also got a 3x Celestron X-cel Barlow lens which seems to be better quality than the Shorty (at three times the cost..) 3. The collimation cap is very helpful. But I did purchase a laser collimator to make it even easier. Altogether, I couldn’t be happier with this telescope. I don’t know if I should have spent a little more and gotten the 6” Starblast instead, but I’m having a blast with this one and will probably be getting a “slower” scope in the near future. If you decide to get the Starblast 4.5, I highly recommend getting a proper finderscope to go with it. Definitely get the shorty Barlow lens. But hold off on buying more eyepieces until you know exactly what you want. The ones that come with it are great, and you’ll have more appreciation for any others you buy in the future :)

I am very impressed with this scope. I was looking for a low-cost entry-level scope to begin my experience with astronomy, and I started looking at the Celestron FirstScope and Orion Funscope. After reading that those units have spherical mirrors which cannot be adjusted (collimated), I decided to look at the next step of scopes. This scope came with 6mm and 17mm Kelner eyepieces. Supposedly these are not as good as Plossl, but I haven't had enough experience to tell the difference. I did buy a 2x and a 3x Barlow lens to increase the zoom of the default lenses. What was I able to see? On the first night I used the scope, I saw Jupiter with 3 of its moons and Saturn with its rings. Saturn was very clear and much better than I expected to ever see with an entry-level scope. Randomly scanning the sky resulted in all sorts of interesting star formations that I couldn't see with the naked eye. For reference, I am in a coastal city in Southern California with lots of light pollution. I noticed that the 17mm lens with either the 2x or 3x Barlow is perfectly clear as can be. The 6mm lens can be either clear or hazy depending on the weather. I suspect that the extreme zoom (75x by itself, 150x with 2x Barlow, 225x with 3x Barlow) pushes the limits of what can be seen through our atmosphere from a light-polluted city. In any case, I am hooked on astronomy so I'll get some Plossl lenses and see if it improves the view at higher zoom levels. From what I understand, this is a good reflector telescope for wide views - looking at constellations and deep sky objects. For viewing planets, you will probably want a refractor type telescope. That's my understanding, anyways. This unit comes with a table-top mount and red dot finder, which is super easy to use once calibrated. I find myself wanting a tripod type mount for better portability, but this is fine for using on a table in the backyard.

This is my first telescope. I did my homework before purchasing and thought this was the best value for money and was a telescope that would be good as a beginner but that might serve me well later. I was correct. It came pretty much ready to use out-of-the-box. All I had to do was affix the red-dot sight and select a lens. I took it out a few times in my neighborhood just to get a feel for it. Then took it to a conservation area away from light pollution. I located Jupiter and Saturn within two minutes and my 8 y/o daughter got excellent views of the rings of Saturn and a few of the Jovian moons. She had a bit of trouble using the 6mm eyepiece, but I had no problem - just used the larger one to center it and then switched out eyepieces. I did buy a 2x Barlow lens, because I saw it recommended, and that was also the right call. I haven't tried astrophotography yet. Will update review if I ever get around to it. I have mild astigmatism, but had no problem getting a clear view. I did get a couple long eye relief eyepieces for my glasses, but I am not really sure I need them. The eyepiece adjusts for my bad vision easily enough.

Costo contenuto. Spedizione perfetta.

Excellent product. Expensive in India

I bought the telescope for my girlfriend, who has always had a fascination with astronomy (and secretly bought it for myself too!). Haven't had a lot of clear skies since we received the starblast, but so far we have not been disappointed. We are both beginners to astronomy and I was looking for something to explore our mutual curiosity for the night sky. Being able to see objects in the sky, knowing how far away they are, even though they are small with this telescope is a cool experience! I don't have experience with other telescopes to compare this to, but am very satisfied with this purchase. It's lightweight and easy to throw in our vehicle and drive out to the outskirts of town and view the night sky in the back of the truck. No setup required! Although as others have mentioned, bringing a crate or something to prop it up is helpful. We still need to learn more to truly understand what we can get out of the starblast, but the nice part about this telescope as that the setup was so easy that you can start exploring right away, and learn as you go! There was an issue in the shipping process, but I contacted Orion directly and they not only responded to me quickly but they fixed the situation to my satisfaction, and did it without hesitation or complaint! I was very impressed with their customer service. Am very satisfied with both the telescope and the company that makes it!

This telescope is great and only took 20 mins to assemble from the box and then was ready to go. It uses a dobsonian mount with means it is a tabletop telescope. It has two really good quality eyepieces, a 17mm and 6mm eyepieces with covers. They provide good views. The red dot finder that comes with the scope is easily the best and easiest to use finder I have used. It only took around 10 minutes to align the red dot finder. After I alligned it everything else was a breeze. Focusing is smooth and you get great detailed views of anything really. Observing planets is pretty good for the price point and I would recommend it to anyone. It comes with starry night software which is great to plan ahead when you want to observe specific objects. You can also register for a 1 year warranty. Overall this scope is probably the best beginner scope you could get. There's an eq version but I would recommend waiting a bit before using an equitorial mount but if that's what you want I would sya go for it. The orion starblast is a great affordable scope that provides clear and great views and is the best beginner scope.

Truly an amazing telescope for the price and is a must buy.